Dr Dirk Claus, managing director of the Port of Kiel, praised the strong commitment of the Stena Line and Niclas Mårtensson to the development of sustainability and environmental compatibility in Baltic ferry shipping.
“Stena Line is the first shipping company in the world to put a ferry ship into operation which is driven by eco-friendly methanol”, he said. “By retrofitting the Stena Germanica, which serves the Kiel – Gothenburg route, Stena Line is making a positive impact on the environment and is treading new and exemplary paths within the ferry sector.”
The retrofit work, which involved the conversion of the engines and fuel system on the ship, was carried out early this year at Remontowa Shipyard by Stena Teknik in co-operation with Wärtsilä.
Compared to conventional fuels, the use of methanol reduces sulphur emissions by 99%, nitrogen by 60%, soot particles by 95% and carbon dioxide by at least 25%.
The Kiel – Gothenburg route handles 400,000 passengers every year and also transports some 90,000 cargo consignments along with the same number of cars. “The Kiel – Gothenburg route is a successful motorway of the sea. Because it runs mainly parallel to the coast, it attracts large volumes of traffic from the roads onto environmentally-friendly shipping every single day”, Dr Claus added.
From the Schwedenkai Terminal in Kiel there is a direct rail cargo connection to numerous national and international destinations. Last year more than 26,000 consignments were transferred from the ferries onto rail in Kiel for hinterland on-transport by rail adding to the port’s environmental commitment.